Adjustable wrench



Nov. 26, 1957 J. LoJcizYc ADJUSTABLE WRENCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6, 1956 I N VE N TOR Attornly .1. LOJCZYC ADJUSTABLE WRENCH Nov. 26, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6. 1956 EIIIIIIII 46 uulm I'NVENTOR Patented Nov. 26, 1957 ADJUSTABLE WRENCH John Lojczyc, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, assignor to Marloc Enterprises Limited, Edson, Alberta, Canada Application April 6, 1956, Serial No. 576,675

2 Claims. (Cl. 81112) My invention relates to adjustable wrenches.

Adjustable wrenches have been used in the past and have usually been constructed with a fixed jaw and a movable jaw, the latter of which was formed with a toothed or rack like portion which was engaged by a worm mounted on the fixed jaw.

These Wrenches while capable of use on light work, did not stand up to heavy work and hard usage.

Failure of the wrench frequently happened due to distortion :of the movable jaw relatively to the fixed jaw, and adjustment of the jaws was not always satisfactory owing to considerable back-lash between the rack and the worm wheel controlling the operation of the movable jaw.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wrench composed of a pair of members pivotally connected together at one end and having jaws at their opposite ends, the members having slots intermediate their ends angularly disposed relatively to each other, and a yoke slidably mounted on one of said members and provided with means at one end to coact with the slots of said members to laterally adjust the jaws upon reciprocation of the yoke, the other end of the yoke having means to frictionally engage said one of the members to lock the yoke in its adjusted position.

Other objects will be made clear as the specification develops.

So that the nature of my invention will be clearly understood I have illustrated two embodiments of the same which I shall describe in detail, but I wish it to be understood that my invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and I reserve the right to modify the construction of my wrench within the scope of my appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view of one embodiment of my invention when the wrench is assembled;

Figure 2 is a view of one of the jaw-carrying members;

Figure 3 is a view of the other jaw-carrying member;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a transverse section on the line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a View of another embodiment of my invention when the Wrench is assembled;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary transverse section through a guide pin, the upper jaw-carrying member and the yoke on the line 77 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side view of the jaw-carrying members and yoke and showing the locking member pivotally mounted on the lower end of the yoke.

Like characters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, my improved wrench comprises members 1 and 2, which are provided at one end with orifices 11 and 21 adapted to register and be secured by the pivot pin 3 which passes through said orifices, so permitting the members 1 and 2 a certain pivotal action on the pin 3.

The member 1 is provided at the end remote from the orifice 11 with an offset jaw 15, while that portion 13 of the member 1 adjacent the orifice 11 constitutes a hand grip. The member 1 is further provided intermediate its length with a longitudinally extending slot 12 which is offset at its lower end, and on the lateral edges of this slot I provide a beveled graduated scale 16.

The other member 2 of the spanner is provided at the end remote from the pivot orifice 21 with an offset jaw 25, and that end 23 of the member 2 adjacent the orifice 21 is formed to constitute a hand grip. The member 2 is further provided intermediate its length with a longitudinally extending slot 22.

The upper or jaw-carrying ends of the members 1 and 2 are adapted to be moved laterally to and from each other to a limited extent, their relative movement being controlled by a threaded bolt 40 which is provided with a squared shank 42 adjacent its head 43, and this squared portion slidably engages the slot 12 while the threaded portion extends through and projects beyond the slot 22, and a milled finger nut 45 makes threaded engagement with the projecting end of the bolt.

The inner annular face of the head 43 is bevelled to engage the bevelled graduated scale 16 adjacent the slot 12, and an indicator arrow 46 is provided on the outer face of the head to facilitate setting the bolt 40 to the desired position relatively to the graduated scale, and this permits of adjustment of the jaws 15 and 25 to engage the nut, coupling or other work on which the wrench is being used.

When the wrench is to be used, the milled nut 45 is loosened and the bolt 40 is slidably moved in the slot 12 to the desired position as indicated by the indicator arrow 46 and the graduated scale 16, and then the milled nut 45 is tightened on the threaded end of the bolt 40. During this sliding movement of the bolt 40 the members 1 and 2 are rotated laterally to a slight extent around the pivot pin 3.

When the jaws 15 and 25 have been adjusted to the desired position by the movement of the bolt 40 above described and the milled nut 45 having been tightened, the wrench is in condition to be used on the work in hand.

When the wrench is in actual use the force of the grip of the user on the hand portions 13 and 23 tend to move the jaws 15 and 25 into intimate engagement with the nut, coupling or other work on which the wrench is being used.

Referring now to Figures 6 to 8, modified members in and 2a are secured at one end by the pivot pin 3. The member 2a is provided with a longitudinal slot 22a, and the member 1a is formed with a slot 12a, and as will be seen by reference to Figure 6 these slots are angularly disposed relatively to each other.

Superimposed on the member 1a and extending longitudinally thereof is a yoke 46 which is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 47. The yoke carries a bolt 43a which extends through the slots 12a and 22a of the la and 2a, and the bolt extends beyond the member 2a and is secured in position by a nut (not illustrated) similar to that shown in Figure 4.

On the member 1a a stud 5 is rigidly mounted and this stud extends through the slot 47 in the yoke 46 and is provided with a snap head. The yoke is aligned by the bolt 43a and the stud 5, and may be reciprocated longitudinally on the line defined by the said bolt and stud.

That end 48 of the yoke 46' remote from the bolt 43a is offset and carries a pivotally attached locking member 44 which is provided with a thumb piece 49.

When the locking member 44 is rotated into its released position the yoke 46' is free to be moved longitudinally, and the bolt 43a slides in the slots 12a and 22a, so moving the jaws 15a and 25a laterally. When these jaws embrace the work on which they are being used, the locking I member 44 is rotated by the thumb of the user engaging the thumb piece 49, so rotating the locking member 44 in locking engagement with the adjacent face of the member 1a.

When the wrench is in use the force of the grip of the user tends to press the hand grips 13a and 23a towards each other, further insuring the engagement of the jaws of the spanner or Wrench with the nut or other work on which it is being used.

From the above description it will be clear that l have invented a wrench which is easy to adjust, and is strong and durable, and in which the adjustment is in all cases direct, and there is no back-lash or lost motion between the members.

I claim:

1. A wrench comprising a pair of members pivotally connected together at one end, the opposite ends of said members being offset to form jaws, each of said members being provided intermediate its length with longitudinally extending slots, said slots being angularly disposed relatively to each other, a yoke provided with a longitudinally extending slot, a guide pin on one of said members and slidably engaging the slot in said yoke, means carried by the yoke and coacting with the slots in said members to laterally adjust the jaws, and a member rotatably mounted on said yoke and frictionally engageable with said one of the members to lock said yoke in its adjusted position.

2. A wrench comprising a pair of members pivotally connected together at one end, the opposite ends of said members being offset to form jaws, each of said members being provided intermediate its length with longitudinally extending slots, said slots being angularly disposed relatively to each other, a yoke slidably mounted on one of said members and having means at one end coacting with the slots in said members to later-ally adjust the jaws, and a rotatable member mounted on the opposite end of said yoke and frictionally engageable with said one of the members to lock said yoke in its adjusted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 181,699 McDonough Aug. 29, 1876 484,288 Brolin Oct. 11, 1892 1,010,479 Collison et al Dec. 5, 1911 1,499,186 Murphy June 24, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS 361,855 Germany Oct. 19, 1922 

